Transcript Drifting Towards War

• 30 January1933Hitler appointed
Chancellor of Germany.
• 28 February1933Suspension of freedoms
of speech, assembly, press, and other
basic rights.
• 20 March1933First concentration camp
opens at Dachau. 1 April1933Naziorganized boycott of Jewish-owned
businesses.
• 7 April1933Jews excluded from
government employment, including
teaching jobs at all levels.
• 14 July1933New law provides basis for
forced sterilization of handicapped
persons, Gypsies, and Blacks.
October1934First major wave of arrests of
homosexuals throughout Germany.
16 March1935Military conscription
introduced.
April1935Many Jehovah's Witnesses
arrested throughout Germany.
15 September1935Anti-Jewish racial and
citizenship laws issued at Nuremberg.
7 March1936German troops march
unopposed into the Rhineland.
16 July1936Some 800 Gypsies interned
near Berlin.
1 August1936Summer Olympics begin in
Berlin.
Drifting Towards War
League of Nations is weak.
WHY????
• 3 countries that pose the greatest
threat to peace are all membersGermany, Italy, and Japan
• Two of the other strongest nations
were not members (US and Soviet
Union)
• Burden of the League falls to
Britain and France-both still
hurting from Depression/WW1
Rise of Dictatorships
• Japanese militarists and cult of the
emperor in Japan
• Mussolini in Italy
• Hitler in Germany
• Stalin in the USSR
• All of these places abandon
collaborative, democratic leadership
aside for totalitarianism
Japan
• Attempts at democracy – all men can vote
for members of the Diet – a legislative
body
• Emperor – figure-head leader, symbol,
descended from the Sun Goddess
Amaterasu
Problems for Japan
• Devastating earthquake in 1923 – 140,000
victims
Japan, as a new industrial country still
heavily dependent on export
earnings for financing its imports of
essential fuel and raw materials, was
hit hard too. The Japanese silk
industry, an export staple, was already
suffering from the advent of artificial
silk-like fibers produced by Western
chemical giants. Now luxury purchases
collapsed, leading to severe
unemployment and, again, a crucial
political crisis.
Between 1929 and 1931, the value of
Japanese exports plummeted by 50
percent. Workers' real income dropped
by almost one-third, and there were
over three million unemployed.
Depression was compounded by bad
harvests in several regions, leading to
rural begging and near-starvation.
Ultranationalist Solutions
• Ultranationalists – extremists who wanted
the glory of Japan at all costs
• Government became more conservative
• People reminded of their obligations to
obey emperor and government
• Schools reinforced this
• Talk of building an empire (think back to
mercantilism) to obtain resources and
have more markets to sell goods
• Talk of military glory, bushido – the spirit
of the samurai
Japan invades China
• 1931—puppet gov’t in Manchuria
controlled by Japanese
• 1937 (what is going on in China?)
shots exchanged between Chinese
Nationalists and Japan
• Chiang-Kai Shek has a million men,
but they are beaten by Japan’s
modern equipment with ease
What is a genocide?
The systematic and planned
extermination of an entire
national, racial, political, or
ethnic group.
Rape of Nanking
• Chinese cities fall quickly
• Nanking has up to 200,000
citizens executed in 6 weeks400,000 in a year
• Chinese fight on
• Warning—the next few slides are
graphic—turn away if you like
The HORROR
• Poured gasoline and people and
shot them so they flickered like
candles
• Cut out eyeballs and then burned
them alive
• Poured acid on them
• Castrated men and beat women in
the pelvic region until they died
The HORROR
• Children were skewered and tossed into
boiling water
• Mass rape—over 20,000 women and
then brutally killed
• Medical tests on Chinese performedinjected with bacteria, fetuses cut from
women, bubonic plague released in
certain areas, people put into pressure
chambers until their eyes would pop out
Prisoners
were used to
practice the
bayonet
How do we lose track of these
things?
In 1982, Japan tried to remove
mention of the massacre from
their textbooks, since they say
that the event was “not
historically well established”Japan has still not apologized for
these events
Fascists Come to Power in
Italy
• Italy in a depression after WWI
• Mussolini promised order and
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prosperity
Introduced “fascism”
Fascism: dictatorship,
centralized control of private
enterprise, repression of
opposition, and extreme
nationalism
Used “Black Shirts” to impose
his rule.
Invades Ethiopia
Makes a pact with Hitler
Benito Mussolini
• Il-Duce – Title of
Mussolini
• Wanted to turn the
Mediterranean into an
Italian lake
• Reminded Italians of
their great history
• What famous ancient
empire was based out
of Italy?
Ethiopia
•Mussolini attacks Ethiopia to
begin his quest for an
“empire”
•Tanks, guns, planes, gas vs.
old rifles and spears
•A test of collective security
—but nobody stops it
Haile
Selassi
“It is us
today. It will
be you
tomorrow”
Axis powers
• Germany, Italy, and Japan form
the Axis Powers
• Hitler and Mussolini says Europe
will rotate around the alliance
formed between Rome and
Berlin
Civil War in Spain
• Weak democracy from 1931-1936
• Army calls for a fascist gov’t and is
led by
General Francisco Franco
• 3 years of civil war before aid from
Germany and Italy turns the tide
• He rules through 1975
Remember these restrictions set by
Treaty of Versailles?
• No ANSCHLUSS (unification) between
Germany and Austria in the future
• Germany is not permitted to send soldiers
into the RHINELAND, even though this
territory is within their boundaries – too
close to France
RHINELAND
• In 1935, Hitler
will violate the
Treaty of
Versailles by
remilitarizing
the Rhineland.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
FRANCE
The final steps to war
• Austria is annexed by Germany—
breaking the anschluss—once
again ignored by France and
Britain
• Munich Conference—1938
• Hitler demands the Sudetenland
• Look back to page 700
What argument did Hitler make for
wanting the Sudetenland?
The final steps to war
• On the brink of war as France and
Britain want to protect
Czechoslovakia , Hitler calls for the
Munich Conference
• Hitler promises Neville Chamberlain
(prime minister of England before
Winston Churchill) that the
Sudetenland will be his last request
Sudeten Germans Greeting Hitler
with fascist salute
• "My good friends, for the
second time in our history, a
British Prime Minister has
returned from Germany
bringing peace with honour. I
believe it is peace for our
time...
Go home and get a nice quiet
sleep."
Discuss the meaning of this cartoon. Include
historical references.
• "Britain and France had to choose
between war and dishonour. They chose
dishonour. They will have war."
- From Churchill’s speech in House of
Commons about Munich settlement (1938)
Drifting Toward War Review
• Who were the Axis Powers and their
leaders?
• What did they have in common?
• What is appeasement?
• Give three examples of appeasement.
• What happened during the Munich
Conference? What piece of land were they
discussing? What was the outcome?
• How can ordinary people play a
role when their country is under
Iraq?
• Consider the role of the
insurgents (rebels) in Iraq.
• Write down three steps that they
can take in your notes.
Blitzkrieg
• “Lightning war”
• Spear-head movement
– bypass enemy strong
points and go through
weak points
• Airplanes – damage
enemy air force before
they can take off,
bombing strategic
locations, machine
gunning people –
causing terror and
confusion
Blitzkrieg
• Rapidly advancing tank groups – best trained
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soldiers and commanders
Precision bombing by Luftwaffe (German air
force), included dropping elite paratroopers
behind enemy lines
Paratroopers captured bridges before the enemy
could destroy them
Radio – tanks and airplanes equipped with it,
connection back to German High Command –
1940, French High Command was not equipped
with radio.
Blitzkrieg’s Qualities
• Flexibility – German commanders could
alter movements on the spot – target
weaker areas and avoid stronger
• Possible because of better technology
• Initiative and surprise – Speed and
intensity of the attack overwhelmed
enemy
• Tanks, aircraft, and radio
• Strong leaders, well-trained and
experienced soldiers, and great weapons –
overwhelming German victories
Weaknesses of Blitzkrieg
• At this pace, Germany should have won
the war. Why does blitzkrieg not win the
war?
• Short term, good weather and roads –
Poland, France, and Yugoslavia
• Not good for long-term – Why not?
• It relies extensively on machines. What do
machines require? What happens to
machines over time?
Shortcoming of Blitzkrieg – Soviet
Union invasion
• Germans advance to Moscow winning many
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victories.
Distances too long to effectively transport
supplies
Machines run out of fuel or breakdown –
Germans did not plan out logistics (ex. How to
get parts to the front to repair machines)
Russia’s poor roads and bad weather affect
blitzkrieg’s effectiveness
German army overextended
• Where would you attack?
• From which location do you think the
French and British were expecting the
attack?
• Through which
territory does the
German advance?
• Why was this a
surprise to the
French?
• What do you
notice about the
upper arrow?
Dunkirk Evacuation – May – June
1940
The Miracle of Dunkirk
• Missed opportunity for German Army – Hitler
orders the assault delayed for three days
• Relied on Luftwaffe to finish off Allied forces –
a favor to his friend Hermann Goering,
commander of Luftwaffe
• Not all bombs exploded – sunk into the sand
• Had German relied on tanks and infantry,
Allies could not have escaped.
• Over 300,000 Allied troops escape to Britain,
live to fight another day
Dunkirk Evacuation
• All available British naval vessels
• Many boats were non-military (fishing
boats, pleasure boats) and piloted by
civilians
• Consider of the bravery of the common
people involved – the important role they
could play in helping their nation and the
side of right
• Winston Churchill referred to the event as
a “miracle of deliverance.”
France Falls
• June 22, 1940 – French leaders sign
surrender documents in the same railroad
car in which the Germans signed the
armistice ending World War I – symbolic
significance. Hitler was in his glory.
• Why did he do this?
• Why were he and Germany so bitter?
Southern Zone also known
as Vichy France after its
capital.
The French Did Not Completely
Give Up
• Charles de Gaulle led French government
in exile from Britain.
• Brave citizens became spies and provided
valuable information to Allied forces which
would help on D-Day.
• French resistance used guerilla warfare.
• Some French families hid Jews.
• Many French people felt no other choice
but to cooperate with the Germans.
Review
• What is blitzkrieg?
• What was the name of the German air
force? What was its role in blitzkrieg?
• How did the German army conquer
France?
• Why was Dunkirk a miracle for the Allies?
• How was France politically reorganized
after surrendering to Germany?
• How did common people make a
difference?
America Goes to War
• How do you feel when someone goes back
on his word?